ATLANTA (AP) — Officials from the Georgia Wildlife Federation say hunters have donated more than 12,000 pounds of deer meat for needy families.

The Georgia Wildlife Federation says the Georgia Hunters for the Hungry Program collected meat from more than 415 deer by the end of deer hunting season in January.

Officials say the meat is processed at state-inspected facilities before being ground into venison and delivered to local food banks.

Georgia Wildlife Federation officials say more than 325,000 pounds of ground venison has been donated to food banks throughout the state since the Georgia Hunters for the Hungry program launched in 1993.

Copyright 2014 The Associated Press.

Police improve communication with hearing impaired

DUNWOODY, Ga. (AP) — A suburban Atlanta police department is now using a device to help officers better communicate with the deaf and hearing impaired.

Dunwoody police said in a release that the department is now equipped with the UbiDuo Face to Face Communicator.

The wireless, portable device is equipped with two keyboards and screens to allow users and officers to quickly communicate with each other

The device allows citizens who are deaf or hard of hearing to communicate with police without having to wait for an interpreter or rely on relatives and friends to translate.

Copyright 2014 The Associated Press.

TVA to update progress on long-range plan

CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. (AP) — The Tennessee Valley Authority is set to discuss progress in updating the utilities long-range energy resources plan along with more than 1,100 comments from the public.

The forum is scheduled for Wednesday, March 26 at 7 p.m. EDT at TVA's Missionary Ridge office building in Chattanooga, and through a simultaneous online webinar link.

The 2015 Integrated Resource Plan is being revised to help TVA determine power generation resources that will continue to balance the region's energy supply among a variety of sources, including nuclear, coal, gas, hydroelectric, renewables and energy efficiency.

The updated IRP, to be completed in about a year, will address changes in the economy and the electric utility industry since the existing energy plan was completed in 2011.

ATLANTA (AP) — A judge says Georgia's agriculture commissioner overstepped his authority when he changed rules so he could determine when Vidalia onions can be harvested and shipped.

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports Fulton County Superior Court Judge Cynthia Wright ruled last week. She said state law gives Agriculture Commissioner Gary Black authority over packaging rules but does not allow him to decide when the onions can be shipped.

A spokeswoman for Black said the state attorney general was reviewing the order.

Black in August said the iconic sweet onions could not be shipped before the last week of April. He was responding to fears Vidalia onions weren't as sweet as they should be.

Delbert Bland, one of the largest growers of Vidalia onions, sued Black over the rule change.

Information from: The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

Copyright 2014 The Associated Press.

Man likely to face upgraded charges in baby death

MADISON, Ga. (AP) — Authorities say charges will likely be upgraded against a man accused in the death of an infant in Morgan County.

Authorities say 9-month-old Brantley Farmer was airlifted to an Atlanta hospital Saturday and died from his injuries Sunday.

Morgan County sheriff's deputies originally charged 21-year-old Donald Justin Lee with cruelty to children after his girlfriend's baby suffered severe injuries. According to local media reports, deputies say the charges against Lee will likely be upgraded to felony murder.

Lee was being held without bond. It was not immediately clear whether he had a lawyer.

Investigators say Lee, who was caring for the child Saturday, called 911 and said the infant had fallen off a couch and wasn't breathing.

Copyright 2014 The Associated Press.

Firefighters training near Atlanta airport

ATLANTA (AP) — If you see heavy smoke near Atlanta's airport early this week, it's likely from training exercises.

Firefighters with Atlanta Fire Rescue plan to hold training sessions from 8 a.m. to noon Monday and Tuesday. The exercises are part of an annual certification for airport rescue firefighters.

Airport officials warn that heavy, dark smoke may be visible from the interstate and other nearby areas as a result of the exercises.

Copyright 2014 The Associated Press.

Gwinnett police say student hit by car has died

LAWRENCEVILLE, Ga. (AP) — Gwinnett County police say a high school student who was hit by a car last week has died.

Police say 16-year-old Jonathan Porter died over the weekend. He had been in the hospital since he was hit by a passing car as he walked to school early on March 18.

Police said Porter was apparently trying to cross a road about half a mile from Parkview High School in Lilburn, where he was a student.

Police have said the driver won't be charged since Porter walked into traffic.

The Gwinnett County School District said extra counselors would be on hand for students and teachers Monday.

Copyright 2014 The Associated Press.

Officials in Tennessee find missing aircraft

VONORE, Tenn. (AP) — Officials in East Tennessee say they have found wreckage from an aircraft that was reported missing and the pilot, who was the only person aboard, is dead.

The aircraft — a single-engine World War II-era de Havilland DHC-1 — was reported missing Sunday evening after it didn't arrive in Canon, Ga. The flight originated in French Lick, Ind.

Officials with the Monroe County Sheriff's Office told media the wreckage was found in the Cherokee National Forest in an area that is not easily accessible by vehicle. Crews were able to access the area by air.

An investigation into the crash continues.

Copyright 2014 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Clayton County police make human trafficking arrests

JONESBORO, Ga. (AP) — Clayton County police arrested a man and woman on charges including human trafficking following a sting operation.

WGCL-TV reports that officers set up a meeting with a 16-year-old featured in an ad for an escort posted on social media. Police say 29-year-old Nathan Davis and 31-year-old Yollanda Cosme arrived at the meeting with the teen.

Officers took all three into custody and later released the teen to a guardian.

Investigators say Davis and Cosme recruited the teen online and said she could make easy money by having sex with people if she gave them part of her earnings.

Both were being held in the Clayton County jail facing charges of human trafficking, sexual exploitation of a minor and pimping. It wasn't immediately clear if they had lawyers.

Information from: WGCL-TV.

Copyright 2014 The Associated Press.

Friend: Soldier confessed to killing pregnant wife

By Russ Bynum, Associated Press

FORT STEWART, Ga. (AP) — A former Army buddy says a Georgia-based soldier confessed to killing his pregnant wife by suffocating her with a plastic bag over her head.

The testimony alleging a confession Monday opened the court-martial at Fort Stewart of Army Pvt. Isaac Aguigui (AH-gee-gee), who is charged with murder in the July 2011 death of his wife, Sgt. Deirdre Aguigui. The soldier from Cashmere, Wash., is also charged with causing the death of their unborn child.

Michael Schaefer testified Isaac Aguigui confessed to him about a month after the death. Defense attorneys noted Schaefer never mentioned the confession during pre-trial testimony and in police interviews.

Isaac Aguigui is already serving a life sentence in a Georgia prison. He pleaded guilty last summer in a double slaying eight months after his wife's death.

Copyright 2014 The Associated Press.

Woman fatally shot in Georgia hair salon

DALLAS, Ga. (AP) — Paulding County Sheriff's officials say a woman has been fatally shot at a hair salon in Dallas.

Sheriff's Cpl. Ashley Henson told WXIA-TV that a man was taken into custody Monday afternoon. Details on the relationship between the suspect and victim weren't immediately available.

The identities of the suspect and victim haven't been released and authorities haven't disclosed the shooter's motive.

Dallas is about 31 miles northeast of downtown Atlanta.

Copyright 2014 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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